Data came from 1,079 hours of programming, including the top-ranked series from 1976-81 and a sampling of entertainment programs during 1984, 1985, and 1986. Situation comedies and dramas were prominently represented. Analysis showed that the responses of others to alcoholic behavior were mixed. Disapproving responses increased between the two time periods studied. However, typically the actions did not model the kinds of behavior that would move the alcoholic individual toward facing reality. They focused on jokes often irrelevant to the plot, various forms of enabling, and sequences of game playing. A smaller number of episodes modeled more appropriate responses in the form of confrontation with love. Findings of this and other research show that the makers of television programs have shown that they can improve the alcohol-relevant content of their programs. Programs now show less glamorization of drinking, less macho drinking, fewer cases of heavy drinking without adverse consequences, and almost no 'miraculous' recoveries from alcoholism. Television has only begun to recognize the relevance of the co-alcoholic in the social environment of the alcoholic. 29 references and an appended list of television programs.